The present invention is directed to an articulated splint for splinting human limbs subsequent to injury and, in particular, to a splint including sections that swing with a pivotal movement or a hinge movement relative to each other in the same device and that are lockable in a plurality of selected positions relative to one another.
Sport trainers, coaches, fireman, police, emergency medical personnel persons and others who must handle limb injuries at the site of an accident or injury often need to splint a limb so that it is not bendable and/or supported during transport to a hospital or other medical facility. For example, during athletic events, arms are often dislocated, arms and legs are often broken or other injuries occur. The use of the splint varies in each of these situations. For example, with a dislocated shoulder, the splint should immobilize the arm in a comfortable position until the patient can be seen by a physician. Alternatively, an emergency medical technician may have to stabilize a leg with a compound fracture wherein a long bone is broken and then the leg is bent at the site of the break. Such a fracture requires a splint that immobilizes the leg in the broken configuration until a physician can set the leg.
In general there are many different possible uses of such a splint. In each usage, the preferred configuration of the splint is somewhat different. In some situations portions of the splint must hinge relative to each other, in some instances portions of the splint must pivot and in some instances portions of the splint must both hinge and pivot. in all situations the various portions of the splint that hinge and/or pivot should be lockable in a plurality of selected angular configurations.
It is desirable to have a single splint structure that can provide all of the above noted configurations rather than have multiple splints wherein each is designed for a specific purpose.
Most emergency workers and other persons who need to use splints also often lack a substantial amount of storage space. Consequently, it is desirable that such splints be usable in a large number of situations, yet are foldable into a compact unit and are storable in a relatively small space.